


my mistakes brought me to you

by ilovepayno



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bullying, M/M, Pining, Spells & Enchantments, They work in an office, Witch Harry, mean co-workers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 16:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13127106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovepayno/pseuds/ilovepayno
Summary: "You !" Ryan yelled, footsteps heavy against the floor where they were moving towards Harry."Me ?" Harry asked, not looking up from where he was writing down his grocery list."You did this ! Admit it !" And that had Harry look up, because Ryan’s tone was far from friendly, and was actually petty scary."What did I do.. ?" Harry confusedly asked, putting his pen down."You cursed me, you idiot ! The Devil is after me because of you ! I can’t sleep at night because of you ! You sent these people to fart in my face, to laugh at me through the walls, you sent them to taunt me ! You killed Chubby !"Or, Harry is a witch and is being bullied at work so he decides to cast a spell on his problematic co-worker. Louis is one of the rare persons who is nice to him, and Harry has a big crush.





	my mistakes brought me to you

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! First, let me say that English is not my first language, and I KNOW my writing skills are very poor, I just wanted to write down this scenario I had in my head for a few weeks. I started writing this around Halloween and it's now Christmas and I feel bad for the bad timing but lol! Happy to finally post this. If you give this a read, though, I'd be happy to know what you thought about it, so leave a comment or even a kudo! Happy holidays!

It was pouring rain. 

It was Monday and it was pouring rain.

It was Monday and it was pouring rain and Harry had missed the bus and had to go to the office by foot, which was fifteen minutes away from his flat. And of course the air was so cold there was frost everywhere and Harry had slipped on his arse in the middle of the street. 

That’s how he ended up almost thirty minutes late, walking up to his boss with a forced and apologetic smile on his face, clothes drenched and hair dripping wet.

"Good morning, Sarah, I know I’m late and I’m so sorry, I just had-" Harry stopped when Sarah, his boss, put her index finger on her mouth, as if adressing a child, to silence him. She waited a few seconds and removed her perfectly manicured finger from her lips.

"I don’t want to know Harry, I don’t have time for this, just go to your desk and get to work." She smiled curtly, signaling that it was time for him to leave her too bright work space. Harry nodded, jaw tight and stepped back before closing the door and sighing deeply, eyes shut. "What a shitty day." He mumbled under his breath. He took a few deep breaths but his eyes flew open when he heard them. The laughs. Familiar ones. As if the day couldn’t get any worse, he thought. There, in front of him, were stood three of his colleagues, staring at him while laughing hysterically. He rolled his eyes, trying to ignore them and keep his cool, until one of them walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So what, Styles, did you piss off a so called witchy friend of yours or something ? Or did you forget to cast a spell on the sky ? You look like a drowned rat !" The guy guffawed, his friends still laughing in the background. Harry frowned and felt anger rise in his chest.

"Don’t talk about things you know nothing about, Ryan. And shouldn’t you be working by now ? Sarah wouldn’t be very happy to hear her favourite employees are taking too many coffee breaks when the company is so busy this time of the year, am I right ?" Harry pushed Ryan’s hand off of his shoulder, adressing the dickhead and his stupid friends of his. Ryan narrowed his eyes at him and got closer to the green eyed-boy. Coincidentally, Ryan was taller than Harry, and towered over him.

"You better watch your mouth, Harry. We’re only laughing right now, but if you do anything I wouldn’t like, you’re done for." He said in a quiet, threatening voice, while pushing two fingers into Harry’s chest to prove that he was serious, which caused chills to appear on the smaller man’s skin. Harry stayed silent and mentally slapped himself in the face for acting so submissively when his eyes caught sight of the floor. He winced when Ryan pushed him one last time before joining his friends, who were smirking at Harry in a way that made him want to disappear.

When he was sure they had left, Harry sighed in relief, but forgot how to breathe when he saw Louis Tomlinson, files in his hands and soft smile on his lips marching in his direction. The sight of him caused Harry to choke on his own saliva and cough heavily in his sleeve. He looked up in time to see Louis stop in front of him and put his small hand on Harry’s back, rubbing it gently.

"Easy, easy." Louis’ addictive voice said. He kept rubbing Harry’s back and Harry wanted to tell him that it was making everything worse, but the soft touch was so nice after his awful beginning of a morning, he kind of wanted to tape Louis’ hand to his back. 

"You okay there, Harry ?" Louis asked, concern evident in his voice. Harry willed away the tears that were beginning to form in the corners of his eyes, and calmed himself enough to stop his coughing fit.

"Y-yeah, sorry." He replied, voice raspy, avoiding Louis’ eyes. How could he make such a fool of himself in front of his crush ? Did he really piss off a witch to be this unlucky in only a few hours ? He only knew two, though, excluding himself. Liam and his own mum were witches, and the last time they’d spoken was on friendly terms, as always. He frowned, lost in thoughts, and only regained control over his mind when he felt the hand on his back being withdrawn. He instantly started to pout, and finally looked properly at Louis. He still had tiny lines of worry on his forehead, but Harry still thought he looked beautiful. 

"What happened to you, are you sick ? You’re soaked, didn’t you have an umbrella ?" Louis asked in a rush, reminding Harry of his mum fussing over him when he was younger. Well, she still bugged him with these kinds of questions every now and then, when Harry didn’t call her for more than two weeks, but unlike his mum’s, Louis’ fussing made the tips of Harry’s ears redden, and his neck flush. He was preening under Louis’ attention on him, but also feeling embarrassed.

"I, um. I missed my bus and frankly…I didn’t even think about bringing an umbrella…" Louis nodded at Harry’s words.

"But are you sick ? You should rest if you are, Harry, no need to be here if you feel ill." Harry shook his head, clearing his throat.

"No, I’m not. I just choked on my saliva, I’m fine." Harry responded, noticing how Louis’ worry lines disappeared instantly as he talked. 

"Oh, I’m glad ! Have you got a towel, though ? To dry your hair ? You’ll really catch a cold if you stay like this…" Harry smiled fondly at Louis. This man was so sweet, so nice, so considerate. 

"No, I don’t, but I’m gonna hang my coat next to the heater and get myself a coffee, I think it should be enough to warm me up." Harry elaborated.

"Nonsense ! Do you really wanna fall ill ? Here, follow me, I have a change of clothes in my locker. Might be a bit small on you but at least you will be warm. I’ll get you a coffee while you get dressed, alright ?" Louis exclaimed, taking Harry’s hand in his and leading him to the lockers room. Harry followed wordlessly, jaw hanging at how cute Louis was being, how warm his hand in his felt, how he never wanted to let go of it. Unfortunately, the moment was short lived as they arrived in the room and Louis dropped his hand to open the padlock on his locker and get the change of clothes he’d promised Harry. 

"Ta-daa ! Not much, but as I said, it’ll keep you warm. You’re lucky I never thought about removing them from there, we never know when we could need them. Like right now, for example !" Louis said, laughter in his voice. The corners of his eyes were crinkling, skin glowing, and Harry wanted to kiss him. He took the clothes from Louis and smiled gratefully at the smaller man.

"Thank you so much, Louis." Harry quietly said. Louis must have sensed the sincerity in his voice, as his smile softened and he rubbed his hand on Harry’s arms for five too short seconds, according to Harry. 

"You’re very welcome, Haz. We’re friends, yes ? I’ll make you your coffee now, you can just meet me in the kitchen ? I think Ryan and the others are in there, I saw them leave their desks just before I left mine to hand these files to Sarah. Oh, I still need to give them to her, by the way." Louis cutely chuckled, shaking his head. "You’re a distraction, Styles. See you in a few minutes !" He continued, and waved at Harry before exiting the room. Harry watched him as he did so, small smile on his lips. He sobered quickly enough when he registered Louis’ words, though. Ryan and the two other morons were still in the kitchen, and Louis wanted him to meet him there. That was also one thing Harry didn’t understand. How Louis could be friends with them. He didn’t know if Louis was aware of the bullying and threats the evil trio was imposing on Harry, as he was never present when it happened, but Harry didn’t understand how Louis, sweet Louis, could not know that these three idiots were in fact, idiots. Once again, Harry wouldn’t ever think of telling Louis what his friends did to him on a daily basis, not wanting to be perceived as an attention seeker, and what if, worse, Louis knew about the bullying and just didn’t care at all ? Maybe he was nice towards Harry because he wanted to initiate a sense of friendship to then trick Harry and humiliate him in front of the whole office ?! 

Harry quickly shook his head and willed the nasty thoughts away from his mind. He took a few deep breaths and locked himself into the toilet stall to change. As he did so, he thought that it was impossible for Louis to be this evil. Maybe Harry was biased because of his crush on Louis, but Louis was too innocent, too good, to be this cruel.   
With these final thoughts in mind, Harry finished getting dressed, finding it cute how the joggers Louis had lent him were too small and how his ankles could be seen. Sarah would throw a fit if she saw him walking through the office in joggers and a simple white tee, but he decided it was better than being in drenched work clothes, plus, he now smelled like Louis, which immediately brought a smile to his face. 

He then locked his stuff in his own locker and set up towards the kitchen. His feet stopped, though, when he was close to the open door. He could hear Louis’ laugh reverberate through the room, echoing in the hallway. If it had only been that, Harry thought. Instead, he heard the laughs he’d heard earlier this morning, the laughs that were constantly heard by Harry in situations where he was being publicly humiliated. A wave of sadness coursed through his body. He was so tired of this situation. It’s not like he didn’t try to defend himself, because he did, but Ryan and his minions always found something to say about him, about his reputation, and they once had even almost fought it off, but Sarah appearing briefly to warn them of the heavy consequences if they decided to throw hands in her office calmed them down. Louis wasn’t there that day, absent from work because he was visiting family, that’s what he had told Harry. Sometimes, Harry wondered what Louis would do if he was to be there when Ryan was being a dickhead. Anger suddenly replaced the sadness in Harry’s body, and his hands curled into fists. He didn’t want this anymore. And he no longer wanted to be afraid of them. So instead of entering the kitchen to get the coffee Louis had promised him, Harry walked haughtily to his desk, with one hell of an idea in his mind. The idea that would change everything.

*

That’s how Harry found himself, two nights after the last altercation with the three idiots, chanting under his breath, eyes closed, and hands hovering over his altar, candles burning. He’d prepared for this spell, had been lucky that the full moon that would make his spell even more stronger was arriving soon, so he wouldn’t have to wait too many weeks to cast the spell. 

Harry was focused on the energy inside of him, his soul burning along with the flames. He kept repeating the chant until he felt a change in the atmosphere, a change indicating the spell had been cast, that his revenge would be taking place in just a few hours at most. Only then did Harry open his green eyes, smiling contentedly at the ceiling. Ryan wouldn’t see it coming, and Harry admittedly felt bad about casting a spell on his colleague but karma hadn’t done anything about Ryan in the two years since The Incident that had triggered the bullying, so he had to take care of it himself, somehow, right ? 

After the spell casting, Harry blew out the candles and went to bed, sighing. Maybe now, he could pretend to ignore the bullying more easily if Ryan’s suffering was in the addition. And maybe now he could focus on a way to ask Louis out, maybe. He wasn’t sure if he was ready about that yet.

*

Harry was on edge. He didn’t know what he had done wrong, he was so sure to have used all the right ingredients, and he didn’t even stutter while chanting the spell. So what could possibly have gone wrong ? He watched as fucking Ryan laughed and chewed on his sandwich, pieces of tuna getting stuck between his teeth. Which, tuna, seriously ? Harry wished he was powerful enough to cast a spell on the whole population of planet Earth that would make them all go vegan, or at the very least vegetarian. He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. Tuna wasn’t really the problem. The problem was that Ryan seemed perfectly fine, still a twat, still making Harry’s ears bleed with his incessant laughter, all day. Harry wanted to scream out of sheer frustration. Instead, he pulled his earphones out of his drawer and put them on. Now, he was finally going to be able to do actual work without being distracted by Ryan’s stupid laugh. He kind of wished he could work with his eyes closed, so he couldn’t see his face and the food in his mouth, but he supposed if he did that, he wouldn’t be able to see Louis work, a few desks away from his. He was an ethereal view, focused on his computer screen, brows slightly furrowed, bottom lip stuck in between his teeth. The sight of him brought a smile to Harry’s face, and when Louis caught his eye, the curly haired boy felt his cheeks redden. He couldn’t look away, though. And when Louis smiled softly, waving his hand at him, the smile on Harry’s face only grew. When Louis focused back on his screen, Harry thought, if only you knew how that simple thing made the butterflies in my belly come alive. 

*

On a random Thursday afternoon, Sarah got out of her office with a huge smile on her face, which was unusual. Everyone’s attention was on her, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. 

"Attention, everyone ! I have good news ! I just got a phonecall from a huge company, and they want to work with us ! They signed the contract ! And to thank you all for the great work you do here every day, I decided to buy you all snacks. Choose whatever you want, it’s on me ! Ryan, would you mind going out and buying everything ? Here’s some money." Sarah excitedly said, throwing a few bills Ryan’s way. The latter looked happy as he pocketed the money, probably excited about leaving the office and getting a free break, and a free snack out of it. Sarah disappeared in her office again, and everyone stood up to get to Ryan to make sure he got their orders right. 

Witnessing all this didn’t do anything for Harry, though. He pretended nothing had happened and focused back to his computer screen until he felt a tap onto his shoulder. He startled and turned his head to see Louis, blue eyes watching him. Harry couldn’t help the weird noise that escaped his mouth, wondering what he had ever done to deserve being punished by having an incredibly handsome coworker who he had to develop a crush on. 

"You okay there, Harold ?" Louis amusedly asked. 

"Yeah, you just startled me, is all. What’s up ?" Harry was probably the worst liar who ever walked this Earth, but he internally sighed in relief when Louis obliviously changed the subject.

"What are you getting, then ? Free snack, this isn’t much but it rarely ever happens, gotta enjoy it !" His eyes were crinkling. God help Harry. He was stunning.

"I don’t really care about the free snack, to be honest. I’d much rather finish this project I’m working on, actually…"

"Oh. Oh. Okay, sorry, then, Curly. You go and finish that project, yeah ? It must be brilliant, I’m sure it is. See you." Harry watched as Louis’ smile fell a bit as he talked, and then he watched his back as he left the tall lad’s desk. Harry groaned and let his hand bang on his keyboard. He didn’t want to make Louis leave, he wanted to talk to him forever, actually. But he was so awkward with people, and it was worse with Louis. He thought to himself that next time he’d see Louis, Harry would make everything in his power to make the lad smile his brightest smile, the one Harry only sees when Louis hears a good joke, or gets a phonecall from his mum during his lunch break. He wanted to be the one this smile was directed at, not the one to make all of Louis’ smiles disappear because he was too stupid to admit he was more than happy that Louis thought of him enough to leave his desk and come talk to him. He sighed and tried to focus back on his project until he was so focused he didn’t even notice Ryan and one of his minion walking back into the office not even two minutes after having left, until he heard a gasp from Nathalie, the receptionist. Everyone’s head turned to them, then.

"Ryan, you okay ? You look pale, mate." Louis asked from his desk. He was met with silence.

"Ryan.. ? Where are the snacks.. ?" One of their coworkers asked. 

Silence.

Everyone seemed to give up on trying to make him talk until the man himself opened his mouth.

"I almost died."

This time, it was the whole office that stayed silent. 

"What.. ?" Minion number two, who had stayed in the office, asked.

"I was crossing the street and a car going at full speed almost hit me. I just had the reflex to step back in time." Ryan said, face regaining a bit of its natural colour. He looked shook up, as he rubbed his hands on his face.

"What the fuck, are you okay ?" Someone asked, and it was probably Louis, but the gears in Harry’s mind were working too rapidly for him to pay attention. Ryan almost got hit by a car. Was that a coincidence, or was that…Did Harry’s spell really did work ? He bit his lip, trying not to smile. 

"Hey, Ryan. That means you didn’t get my crisps, right ?"

"No, I didn’t get your bloody crisps, Esther, what the fuck ! I almost died ! Would you rather get all the crisps in the world and have me dead ? Is that what you’re trying to say ?!" And Harry almost felt bad when he noticed the guy’s eyes were red, as if on the verge of tears. Almost.

But then Louis got up from his desk and walked to were Ryan was standing, engulfing him in a friendly hug, meant to comfort him. Then, Harry didn’t feel bad at all. He felt jealous, he wanted to tear Louis away from this idiot who was currently whining like a baby, who made Harry’s working hours, Harry’s life a living hell. Harry was angry, angry at Ryan, angry at the world, angry at himself for not being the one in Louis’ arms right this moment. He got up from his chair and left the room to go and try to calm himself by locking himself in the toilet for a few minutes.

*

It was a few days later, a rare one where Sarah was away to meet with potential clients, a day where everyone pretended to be working while actually doing nothing at all. Harry liked days like this. He was painting his nails a black colour while his computer was on since 9am, showing an important email he had to respond to asap but always ‘forgot about’. He was waiting for his nails to dry when he got a shiver down his spine, warning him that something bad was about to happen. His feeling turned out to be right as when he looked up from his hands, Ryan’s face was all he saw. 

"Wow, man. Nice nails." Ryan said, and Harry would have wondered why he was suddenly being so nice to him if not for the nasty smirk on his face that was showing Harry that he wasn’t being serious.

"What do you want ?" Harry asked as he pretended to finally pay attention to his computer screen. 

"Did you choose this colour because it matches your satanist cult’s views?" And. What ? 

Harry got up so quickly his head was dizzy, but he didn’t want to show any weakness. "You don’t know what you’re talking about. This isn’t it at all, and I’m gonna say this once : leave my desk. Now." Harry gritted through his teeth, hands curled into fists. He was glad to have used a spell that had made his nails dry faster, or else they’d be ruined by then.   
Ryan scoffed and picked up the apple that was on Harry’s desk before biting into it, just to spite Harry some more. Harry willed himself to calm down, to trust the spell, to trust that life would take a turn for the better soon enough. Time seemed to pass by slowly, until finally, after a last and long glare at Harry, Ryan left the curly haired boy’s desk, only stopping once on his way to his own desk to throw the unfortunate apple in the bin. Harry continued glaring at him all the way from his corner, and watched as Ryan’s phone rang and the lad answered. 

Harry would get revenge. And if not, well. He’d quit. Oh, who was he joking, of course he wouldn’t quit, or else he wouldn’t see Louis anymore, and that would make him even more sadder than if he was being bullied 5 out of 7 days of the week. He sighed and sat back down, noticing Louis coming back from the kitchen out of the corner of his eye. He lived for these moments he saw the blue eyed lad, he longed for him. Louis. Louis, who was still unreachable, according to Harry. Why would he even want to date him, Harry, the strange boy from a few desks away from his. 

Harry’s thoughts were cut short when he heard a cry from the other side of the office. Of course it was fucking Ryan. Again. He was clutching his phone hard in his right hand, his left one grabbing at his own hair. 

"My hamster died ! Chubby died ! My cleaning lady just called me, he’s dead ! Chubby’s dead !" He cried out, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Harry wanted to laugh so hard, urge so present he had to fake a coughing fit. He still saw some of his coworkers, who, like him, thought Ryan was a dick (without being bullied, of course. This treatment was only for Harry), laughing, and he couldn’t hold his laughter in, though keeping it on a low volume. The sound of laughter only amplified in the room as more people started laughing. When Harry looked up, he saw people, including Louis, laughing. Deep down he knew that what they were doing was cruel, laughing when an innocent animal had died, but Ryan’s reaction was just too priceless, and if Harry remembered right, Ryan had this hamster for quite a long time, so Harry could only think that his spell had nothing to do with it and that the poor animal had died of old age. 

"That’s not funny ! I loved that hamster ! He pissed on a daily basis, but I loved Chubby !" Ryan wailed, and that set everyone off again, laughter heard from different floors throughout the building. And Harry was happy, when he looked at Louis and saw the beautiful boy with tears in his eyes from laughing so much. He was beautiful, and in that moment, Harry thought that yes, maybe he could be confident enough, one day, to ask him out. And if Louis didn’t agree with the idea, Harry would always feel honoured of knowing him, of knowing such a nice, pretty, amazing boy. 

*

A few days later and Ryan spilling soda onto his pants, tripping on his own feet, losing his favourite shirt and a lot more incidents, Harry was back at the office. He woke up in the morning to the sight of Louis’ clothes on a chair in his bedroom and decided that it was time to give them back. He’d slept in them too many times already and had wanted to give them back after finally washing them, but had been too selfish to do it, loving the thought of Louis’ things being in his bedroom even though the man himself had never stepped foot in Harry’s house.

That’s how he found himself at Louis’ desk, waiting for him to arrive so he could finally give the joggers and the t-shirt back to its owner. When Louis did arrive, he greeted Harry with a huge smile, although with an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Good morning, it’ the first time I’ve seen you near my desk, usually it’s me who comes all the way from here to your corner." He said, putting his Starbucks cup on his desk. 

"Yeah, I- um..I –" Harry stuttered and felt himself blush. Why did he have to be so awkard, all the time ? And why did Louis look so surprised ? Did he really hate to see Harry’s face that much ? I should leave, he thought.

"Don’t look so forlorn, Harry, I’m not complaining. You’re the first person I’m talking to this morning, except for the guy who got my order wrong at Starbucks, and I’m thinking that my day can only get better thanks to you." Louis said, big smile still etched on his face. He was so lovely, and after that comment, Harry couldn’t do anything but smile back.

"Oh. I’m glad, then. I could wait at your desk every morning if that meant you being in a good mood." Harry replied, kidding, but not kidding at all. He’d wait for Louis anywhere, would wait for him forever.

"Yeah, I’d like that." Louis quietly said, and Harry thought he saw something in Louis’ eyes, right then, that could have meant he was being serious, but it was gone before Harry could linger on the thought.

"Oh ! I got your clothes back, I washed them and all that, don’t worry. Thank you again for, you know. Being so nice and lending them to me the other day." Harry exclaimed, handing the plastic bag to Louis, whom took it slowly.

"Thank you, mate. It was no big deal, really. You know you weren’t in a hurry, could have waited a bit longer to give them back, I wouldn’t have minded." Louis said, in a warm voice, tilting his head on his shoulder.

"I know, I just- um. Anyway, thank you again, Lou." The nickname slipped out of Harry’s mouth like it was the most normal thing to do, giving personal nicknames to your one of your coworkers that you barely ever talked to but admired from afar.

"You’re welcome, Harry. See you at lunch ? And maybe tomorrow morning, same time same place ?" Louis asked, winking at Harry. Harry smiled back, happier than he ever felt in a long time.

"Yeah."

*

That’s how the two men developed a small routine of Harry waiting for Louis every morning at his desk and them getting a coffee from the kitchen together, then parting, then eating lunch together (plus other coworkers) later during the day, and finally, waving at each other when the day is over, to start all over again the next morning. Harry was proud of this routine, and happy to get to learn new things about Louis when they were both waiting for their cups of coffee to be made in the mornings, or even when Louis was telling silly stories to ther coworkers at lunch. Of course, Ryan was still being an arsehole, annoying Harry to no end, but it was bearable, he thought.

One day, when Harry was talking to Louis, both men engulfed in a conversation about Stranger Things, Ryan came into the office, a scarf covering his face.

"The first person who says something will have me filing a complaint against them, understood ?" He grumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"What happened to your face, Ry ?" Minion 1 asked, met with an unintelligible noise from Ryan. Minion 1 walked up to Ryan’s desk, tapping on his shoulder.

"Mate, you okay ?"

"Don’t fucking touch me !" Ryan yelled, stepping back and misplacing the scarf on his face, causing it to fall down and revealing his face. In that moment, everyone stopped breathing, staring at him.

"Ryan, fuck. What happened to your face ? Even my sixteen years old brother has less zits than you !" Minion 2 exclaims, some people chuckling at his words.

"I don’t know, okay ?! I woke up and my skin was like this !" Ryan answered, fumbling with the scarf to put it back on his face.

"It’s like you’re cursed or something." Esther said, pity in her eyes. Harry smirked at her words, because she was not wrong. Ryan’s head turned towards him then, and he lowered the scarf to glare at him. Harry dropped the smirking and took a sip of his coffee. He didn’t notice Louis watching the interaction, though, watching Harry weirdly.

*

"You !" Ryan yelled, footsteps heavy against the floor where they were moving towards Harry.

"Me ?" Harry asked, not looking up from where he was writing down his grocery list.

"You did this ! Admit it !" And that had Harry look up, because Ryan’s tone was far from friendly, and was actually petty scary.

"What did I do.. ?" Harry confusedly asked, putting his pen down.

"You cursed me, you idiot ! The Devil is after me because of you ! I can’t sleep at night because of you ! You sent these people to fart in my face, to laugh at me through the walls, you sent them to taunt me ! You killed Chubby !" Ryan didn’t seem to hear the laughter that was echoing through the room, too focused on his anger towards Harry. Harry, who was amused but slightly distraught at the fact that Ryan had faced him in front of everyone.

"What are you talking about ? Did you say you hear farts at night ?" Harry asked, trying to fake a concerned tone. He was a bad liar, but he hoped to the Gods that it would be enough to make Ryan go away. 

His miracle came in the form of Louis, walking up to them and putting a hand on Ryan’s forearm to try and calm him down.

"Come on, Ryan, what are you talking about ? Leave Harry here alone, yeah ? We’ll go get you a glass of water and talk about ways to make you sleep better." Louis offered, and Ryan still looked like he was about to throw a vase at Harry’s face but he inhaled deeply and nodded. Harry exhaled a sigh of relief but smirked while trying to go back to his grocery list. He was too happy about this, too happy about making Ryan’s life a living hell, just like he did Harry’s. 

He suddenly felt the need to look up at the two men retreating to the kitchen, and when he did, his eyes caught Louis’. He stopped smirking immediately but it was too late. Louis had caught him, but why would it matter ? It was nothing. Right ? 

*

The next few days had Harry exhausted. Work was so busy and Sarah didn’t let anyone relax during work hours. But it was Friday now, and Harry was looking forward to going home and drawing himself a nice bath. He would use his favourite bath bomb, too, and he would even light some handmade scented candles. Harry sighed dreamily at the thought and when he looked up, ready to pack his things and finally leave the office, he noticed that almost all the lights were out and that he was the only one left, except for Nathalie, the receptionist, who had just crossed the threshold to go back home to spend a nice week-end with her wife and their children. 

Harry got up and cleared his desk, eventually taking his bag to then walk to the lift. He didn’t have time to even take two steps, though, before he was pushed back, hard. He didn’t have the time to say anything before someone, possibly the same person who had pushed him, was gripping his shoulder to stop him from moving. 

"You’re not acting all mighty anymore, Styles ? So what, the cat got your tongue ?" Harry frowned when he recognised the voice. This situation didn’t smell good, at all.

"Ryan ?"

"Yeah it’s me, you twat. Now you’re gonna fix what you’ve caused !"

Harry’s eyes seemed to finally focus again and he noticed that minion 1 and minion 2 were standing behind Ryan, threatening smirks on their faces.

"Styles ! Undo what youd did, now !" Ryan said harshly again, face red with anger at Harry’s lack of reply to his previous demand.

Harry was still frowning, but he laughed. "No way. You know you deserve this."

Ryan now looked like he was about to pass out, or maybe kill Harry. The green eyed boy was scared, but didn’t want to appear weak, again.

"You’re gonna fucking do it, Harry, or I swear to God I won’t be as nice as I’m being right now !"

"Do it, you fucker !" Minion 2 added.

Harry shook his head. "You doubted my powers, you made fun of me ! Witches exist, and we should be taken seriously." 

Harry was met with silence, and saw something change in Ryan’s eyes. Desperation, maybe. With this, almost all the fight left Harry. What was he even doing ? That wasn’t like him, to hit back using violence. A spell could be pretty harmless, but used by a powerful witch, whom Harry was, the spell could attract all kind of bad luck, from i-missed-my-bus bad luck to i-just-got-stabbed-in-the-gut-because-i-was-in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time bad luck. He felt the guilt inside of him, and felt bad for Ryan. The guy was a dickhead, but he didn’t deserve this. How could Harry want the world to be a better, nicer place if he was doing all the things to make it the opposite ? 

He sighed and before Ryan had even replied to his provocative answer, Harry was nodding. "Okay I’ll undo the spell" He quietly said, looking unfocusely to his left. 

"How can I know for sure that you’ll do it ?" Ryan skeptically asked.

"You can have my word. I promise." Harry retorted, and then he felt Ryan’s hand leave his shoulder, but before he could sigh in relief, a gasp was heard from all the way behind him. When the four men focused on the noise, they all noticed Louis, standing there, eyes staring at Harry, horror, and what looked like…disappointment ? on his face.

"You…you did this !" He shrieked. All the eyes in the room were on Harry, now, but Harry’s own were still on Louis. He couldn’t read the petite man, and for some reason that bothered him. Never, had Louis ever looked at him this way, and that was unsettling. Still, though, Harry couldn’t say anything back, feeling like if he opened his mouth, he would upset Louis even more.

"Why would you do this ?! I always tried to ignore the rumours about you and that day you apparently cast a spell in the office thinking you were alone, because I actually thought people were just pissing about, but you really are a witch ?! Oh my God…" Louis said, bringing his two hands to his face and starting pacing.

"What you did to Ryan, it’s just cruel, Harry ! I can’t believe you, out of all people, would do this ! It’s so unlike you, I… You’re fucking insane, he could have died ! You’ve gone mad !"

Harry let Louis pace some more before he felt the need to defend himself, or to just say anything, really.

"I never thought you knew about it…" He whispered, loud enough for Louis to hear. Harry was so out of it that he didn’t even notice Ryan and his evil followers leaving. He didn’t understand why they had left, because seeing Harry suffer was probably something that would bring them joy, but he was grateful.

"What ? You never thought I heard people calling you a witch ? Now I know for sure, at least, that they were right ! That you’re a…a freak !" And Harry would have prefered Ryan had killed him, a few minutes ago, because hearing these words was just the absolute worst. It was like his heart was being stabbed by thousands of daggers, counting the one on Louis’ arm. He felt all the air leave his lungs, and what made him want to genuinely die, was when he heard Louis’ soft and sad "To say that I liked you…".

Harry felt tears roll down his cheeks, and he thought that all hope was lost, so he had no use staying here and making Louis even more sad, staying here and making himself even more miserable by looking at Louis looking at him with disgust. So he left.

*

« Hello, Ryan. It’s Harry Styles. I’m just texting you my address so you can meet me at my house tonight at 7. Sorry again. »

*

Harry had been meditating all day, to try to gather all the good energy possible for the spells to come. Or so that’s what he tried to make himself believe. In reality, maybe Harry had been meditating all day because he wanted to try and forget Louis’ face and his words of disgust directed at him, words that Harry had deserved. It never fully worked, but he was grateful for the rare moments his mind would find itself empty of any worries. The peace was unfortunately always short-lived, for when Louis’ face would appear again behind his eyelids, he would fall into big fat tears, sobbing his eyes out and frightening the good spirits present in his home. 

When 7pm hit, Harry was a ball of nerves. He had been waiting in front of his fireplace, watching the flames dance to try and distract himself for about 2 hours when the frantic knocks made his face look up and his feet hurry to open the front door. 

"Hi. I don’t suppose you mind that I brought the guys with me ? I mean, I just wanted witnesses if you wanted to try anything to harm me. Again." Ryan said, voice icy. Harry nodded quickly and opened the door wider to let them all in. Them included Ryan, his two followers and Louis. Louis who had been looking at his feet since Harry had opened the door. 

Harry led them all to his living room, waving his hands to show them they could sit wherever they wanted. He couldn’t feel his tongue, couldn’t find the strength to open his mouth. He hadn’t expected Louis to show up, and he wondered if he would be able to succeed reversing the spell at all, with the nerves nibbling at his skin. 

"So, what is it that you’re gonna do, now ?" Ryan asked. Harry inhaled deeply and went to the big and wide rack containing all of his potions and books. 

"I’m going to draw a pentacle on the floor, with salt, and you’re gonna sit in it while I get everything ready, so, uh, so nothing bad happens to you while you’re here, so you’re protected. This is a very powerful house…" Harry said, red colouring his cheeks in shame when he heard the two minions laugh and Ryan scoff. Louis still hadn’t said anything. He was now in an armchair by the fireplace, eyes on his fidgety fingers. He had never ever felt ashamed for being a witch, but he had considered giving it all up a few times since what had happened in the office.

"Well, get to it, then." Ryan exclaimed. Harry tried to will his thoughts away and went to fetch the salt to draw a pentacle on the floor. When it was done and Ryan as safely inside, Harry sighed in relief. At least the boy was safe. And now Harry only had to undo the bad luck spell.

*

A few minutes later found Ryan still in the pentacle, playing on his phone, the two minions busy making fun of Harry’s sacred stuff, and Harry himself busy at his altar. He was so focused on the work at hands that he started when he felt a presence next to him. When he looked up he saw Louis watching him. He blushed at being observed by the man he liked but continued manipulating the ingredients.

"Harry." Harry heard Louis say in a whispered voice, and when he looked up to him, Harry saw that Louis was now watching him with an apologetic look on his face. 

Harry frowned. "You okay ?" He asked Louis, whom shook his head and put his hand on Harry’s forearm.

"Harry. I thought about it, and I asked the guys about it, and I’m so, so sorry about what I said last night. It wasn’t fair, and I didn’t know about the bullying, which. I gave the guys a hard time after they told me. And, um."

"Lou…" Harry interrupted, but Louis stopped him with a wave of his hand, and Harry shut his mouth.

"What you did, I still think it’s not okay, but now I understand your point of view, I know you feel guilty, and you have to know, Harry, that I never meant to call you a freak." Louis was looking Harry in the eye now, and his voice sounded sincere, but Harry couldn’t help but break the eye contact and look down to his feet at the mention of the ‘f word’. 

His eyes were still focused on his shoelaces when he felt Louis’ fingers move and wrap around Harry’s wrist. "Also, I-I still like you. I may have come off as a jerk last night with the way I said it but, yeah. I like you. I’ve liked you for a long time actually." Harry looked up and he thought about how his neck was in pain at how rapidly the action was carried out but he didn’t really care at this point, because what Louis had said was clearly more important. His green eyes met Louis’ blue ones and when he tried to form words out of the billion of thoughts that were occupying his head but failed, he closed his mouth and his eyes and he took a deep breath. Harry almost lost it all again when he felt Louis’ thumb caressing the skin of his wrist encouragingly, but willed himself to stay calm and focus on what he would say to Louis after the latter, Harry’s crush for years, the love of his life, had confessed he had liked him for a long time now and still did. 

Harry opened his eyes and admired the soft smile playing on Louis’ lips for a few seconds. "You do ?" He asked, hope obvious in the tone of voice he’d used.

"I do, Haz. I like you."

Harry grinned at him and nodded. "Cool, that’s- that’s really cool. Great, actually. Also convenient, because I like you, too !" Harry laughed softly and Louis tightened his grip on the tall lad’s wrist, still wearing a huge smile on his face. Louis didn’t get to answer, though, because Ryan’s loud voice was being heard before he could get any words out.

"Not cute at all, but I feel like you guys have forgotten the main thing here ? So, Harry, let me remind you that you’re actually supposed to be undoing the curse you put on me. And you, Louis, are not supposed to flirt with the enemy." Louis shook his head and took a step back, removing his hand from Harry’s arm and putting it in his jeans’ pocket. The smile on Harry’s face immediatly fell but Louis must have sensed the thoughts that would form in his friend’s head because as soon as he heard Ryan’s words he scoffed and showed him his middle finger using the hand that wasn’t in his pocket. 

"Shut the fuck up, Ryan. He’s trying to make things better, be more polite would you ?" Harry’s cheeks found back some of its colours and he grinned to himself, busying himself with the task that he’d neglected a bit, which was to save Ryan.

*

After a good twenty minutes, the bad luck spell was broken and Ryan was sobbing in his own hands, the minions patting his shoulders.

"I’m fucking free ! Fuck you bad luck, I’m a new man now, I can live without worrying about making a fool out of myself or dying everyday !" 

He exchanged a few hugs with his friends and after a bit they were all back at Harry’s front door.

"Styles, man, I gotta admit that that was pretty cool. I mean, if you forget about the dangerous stuff, it’s really cool." One of the minions said, the other agreeing instantly.

"Yeah mate, awesome !" 

"Um, come on guys, let’s not forget he tried to kill me." Ryan said, looking offended in his spot on the porch. 

Harry bit his lower lip, looking down to his feet. "I already said I was sorry, and I am. I’m sorry." He whispered, wanting nothing more than to live this story behind.

"Come on Ryan, it was cool. Admit it." Louis said.

"Well, I guess it is cool… Do not practice on me anymore, though, got it ?" Ryan retorted, and Harry wanted to argue and tell him that it wasn’t even an experiment, that he was powerful enough to know his spells by heart, thank you very much, but he thought a quiet ‘yes’ with a small smile would be better.

"By the way, Harry. We’re sorry, too, about the way we treat you at the office and all that. We won’t do it again." Ryan muttered.

Harry was so shocked he didn’t register the fact that Ryan had grasped his hand and was now shaking it, sealing the deal. 

"Yeah, cool." Harry replied, still not quite believing he’d heard Ryan apologise and the minions agree. 

Once that was done, the gang left Harry’s house but the only person remaining on Harry’s doorstep was Louis.

"Sooo. That was an eventful 24 hours, but I’m glad it worked out well. For everyone." Louis observed, hands in the pockets of his jean jacket.

Harry smiled and nodded, rubbing his nose with his hand. "Yeah, I’m glad, too."

"So now I guess it’s the moment I ask you if you’d like to go out with me." Louis said, smile still in place on his lips but voice laced with a hint of nervousness. 

Harry blushed and grinned at Louis, nodding frantically. "I mean, yeah, I guess. And I’d say yes, of course. "

"Great… It’s a date, then ! I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 7, sounds good ?" Louis asked, watching Harry fondly.

"Sounds great. See you tomorrow, then ?"

"Yeah. Goodnight, Harry." Louis backed away from the doorstep and walked backwards, not yet ready to take his eyes off Harry. It’s only after a few seconds that he started to turn around to go to his car, but Harry’s hand grabbing his arm stopped him from moving too far away.

« Wait, Lou. » Harry yanked Louis back to him and leaned down to put his lips on Louis’, who let out a noise of surprise but melted into the kiss and put his hand on Harry’s cheek. After what felt like two seconds of snogging but was really a full minute, they eventually separated their mouths, and then their bodies weren’t touching at all, but the smiles on their faces were still present, brighter than ever.

« Goodnight to you too, Lou. » Harry softly said, and watched Louis as he got back to his car and drove away. When he closed the door behind him, he slid down to the floor and let out an embarassing noise, cheeks red and jaw aching from all the smiling. God, he was acting like a teenager, he thought. But Louis liked him back, and when he had kissed him, Louis had kissed him back. Also, they were going on a date in less than 24 hours ! Harry couldn’t be happier, and when he went to bed later that night, he thought of Louis’ blue eyes and Louis’ everything and thought yeah, it really worked out for everyone in the end.

 

THE END.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my [tumblr :) Come say hi!](http://plutomlinson.tumblr.com/)


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